Just face it

 It's our last week of the second 6 weeks. I can't believe when we pick up again, it will be October! My favorite month!  Right now I'm sitting on our picnic bench outside in some beautiful weather- the first pretty and comfortable day in a very long time, and I can begin to feel the pleasantness of fall.

This week we started a Parts of the Body series I kind of made up the weekend before in the orchestra pit during intermissions. This week we focused on our head! I mainly want the kids to wonder at the  amazing details of what God has made. I'm not sure how scientists can study the human body or really anything of the natural world without seeing the intricate creation and design behind it. All of this working together perfectly to form an entire planet of function and life...by accident? So instead of delving too deeply into diagrams and vocabulary words, I wanted them to understood how each part was designed to work, to appreciate it, and to start noticing how other things in our lives work- teaching them to teach themselves so to speak.

Before that, though, we added a United States map to their school board. We put push pins into every state in which we knew someone who lived there.

 Then Chloe asked at dinner once, "Why is that chicken there?"  Do you see it?

 Our little station in the kitchen. I try to post Chloe's preschool work. I also have a cleaning and laundry schedule up there, which is a laugh. It's been up there for months and I've followed it for maybe 3 days. They are organized well if I will ever follow them- and they're pretty, so they stay.

 On the first day of school, we learned about hair. We made a hair chart of several people we knew. This was a great chance to discuss characteristics as well as addition and even simple fractions for Hannah. How many out of 8 people have short, curly hair?

 We measured our own hair lengths and drew a portrait. This is Hannah's of course. I like that she also decorated her hair.

 

We also read several wonderful books featuring hair that I found in the library. Who would have guessed? This one really made me tear up when I read it to them. It's about a little Mexican girl who sacrificed her braids to earn money for her mother's new fishing net so they could have money to eat. I caught Hannah reading it again later, so I'm very glad these kinds of characters are available for them to emulate. We read a couple of silly ones about a girl who wouldn't brush her hair and grew a whole forest on her head. We also read two more emotional ones- one about a girl in Africa who desperately wanted braids with coins like all the older ladies in her community- and an inner city boy who had his head shaved so he could make his mother a wig to wear during their family picture. She was not going to participate that year because she was undergoing chemotherapy. The kids not only learned about different cultures and how important their hair is, but also learned compassion and love. You never know when a simple subject will bring so much good.

 

 The next day we learned about eyes. They were all excited to try on my glasses and frequently say they can't wait to get some. Part of me is sad to know they will most likely all need them at some point, mostly for selfish reasons. I was always frustrated growing up that I was recognized as the "the girl with the glasses" and I felt people couldn't really see my true face. Those glasses defined me too much. I want to see my children's true faces too, and not have to look at their pretty eyes through frames that will change their look. I don't want other kids to define them like I was- but hey, they homeschool and are surrounded by loving friends already, so perhaps that won't ever be a problem for them. And there are plenty of children wearing glasses out there who are perfectly happy.
Wow, I really went on a tangent there!

 I showed the girls some optical illusions (which line is longer than the other?) and we noticed how depth perception of lack thereof affects how we perceive things.

 My dad always enjoyed taking these kinds of pictures while we were growing up. The girls had no idea what I was doing, but they laughed like crazy when they saw the eye trick in the photos.

 We then talked about what it meant to lose eyesight entirely. I blindfolded each kid and gave them a simple task- like "go to the restroom and wash your hands." They got a real kick out of that and were quite good at it.

                                Lastly, we talked about all the pats of our eyes and their functions.

 I've always stayed away from magnetic letters on the fridge- drives me crazy! But it's a great way for Chloe to practice forming short words- and then we promptly put them away haha.

 The next day we studied mouths. We talked about the function of each type of tooth then ate apple chunks to pay attention to which teeth did what. We also read that children have 20 teeth and they were excited to find out they did indeed have 20.

 One book gave great instructions on caring for teeth so we practiced with a real toothbrush on the page. All 3 kids flossed that night without being asked at all.

                                 We made little teeth molds with plastic baggies and play dough.

 We even talked about saliva and it's function. We tried to mash up bread with water and without water to see the difference. Understandably, they wanted to keep this experiment out of their mouths.

 We took notice of which parts of our mouth helped form which letters. It even made me think a little bit! The girls were particularly excited about getting to make lipstick kisses.

 On Thursday they went to preschool and church co-op. Then Friday was a rainy cool day. Dax was off from work and we had some errands to run, so we took the day off and had a nice time. That night, we were surprised with a visit from our wonderful friend, Heather!! Remember her answering our cat interview questions? The kids showed her their schoolwork so far and crawled all over her with excitement : )

 Today is Saturday. How dare I have school? Well Dax is at work and we have fun plans later, so why not have some fun at school, too? We were left studying ears and noses. We read several funny books. And this sweet one, which was my favorite- about a prince with a big nose who repelled potential princesses and a princess with big feet who couldn't find a prince..until they met each other.

They had fun smelling a lime, a garlic cracker, and chocolate. We learned about nose hairs and how to properly clean out your nose- without eating the contents!!! The things we have to say, especially with a 3 yr. old boy in the mix. We looked at a simple diagram of the ear and learned about vibrations leading to their brain. They all stood in the den with their eyes closed while I slammed different doors in the house- they had to identify which room. That was entertaining for sure, and they were almost always right. Every door has it's distinct sound.

 We drew some simple comparisons with animals- this one is my work of art.

 We emulated a nose sneeze with a baby aspirator and green water, saying Aaaachooo!for good effect.

 We looked at Picasso's art and treatment of facial features. Then they cut out various eyes, ears, noses, and mouths from magazines. The only problem with this is that everyone in magazines are beautiful and therefore don't have super unique features, such as a crooked nose or crinkled eyes that would have made this more interesting. Sorry, pretty people!

 Turns out now matter what, facial features rearranged will always make for an odd look!

 Hannah did two.

 Chloe's Picasso.

 I've heard from so many who enjoy reading the blog. Thanks so much for taking an interest in what we're up to and we've loved sharing it with you. (It also helps keep me accountable and interested in documenting everything we do). See you soon : )